Report estimates alcohol abuse costs NSW more than $1 billion a year

The New South Wales Auditor General Peter Achterstraat has estimated that alcohol abuse costs state Government agencies more than $1 billion a year.

It is the first time Peter Achterstraat has commissioned research to try to calculate how much money is spent by police, hospitals, courts, Community Services and other agencies on dealing with the problem.

If social costs like lost productivity are factored into the equation, Mr Achterstraat says the total cost rises to nearly $4 billion a year.

He has recommended the Government consider charging people who abuse alcohol for dragging resources away from more pressing work.

"Well we've heard of the concept of user pays, it might be time to consider the notion of abuser pays," he said.

"So that people who are involved in drunken behaviour are asked to make a contribution to fix up the damage that they've caused."

We've been banging on about the human cost for a long time now and the Auditor General's report is telling us that the economic cost is also enormous. And our view is the government needs to listen

Doctor Tony Sara

A group campaigning against alcohol fuelled violence says its call for tighter sale restrictions has been boosted by the Auditor General's report.

Doctor Tony Sara from Last Drinks Coalition says it is further argument for reduced trading hours and earlier lock-out periods.

"We know about the human costs," he said

"We've been banging on about the human cost for a long time now and the Auditor General's report is telling us that the economic cost is also enormous. And our view is the government needs to listen."

The NSW Hospitality minister George Souris says an estimation that alcohol abuse costs the economy billions every year is alarming, but he maintains there is no one solution.

But George Souris says the suggestion of reduced trading hours and earlier lock-outs is too simplistic.

"Sydney is a very large metropolitan area, and the very last thing we want to do is create an underground industry," he said.

He has also knocked back the idea of abuser-pays, saying it may discourage individuals from accessing the services they need.

The Auditor General is also suggesting that the Government needs to collect more data on the cost of drunken behaviour and publicly report its data every three years.